Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis of triterpenoid accumulation in the roots of Codonopsis pilosula var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T.Shen at different altitudes.

INTRODUCTION: Codonopsis Radix is a beneficial traditional Chinese medicine, and triterpenoid are the major bioactive constituents. Codonopsis pilosula var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T.Shen (CPM) is a precious variety of Codonopsis Radix, which is distributed at high mountain areas. The environment plays an important role in the synthesis and metabolism of active ingredients in medicinal plants, but there is no report elaborating on the effect of altitude on terpenoid metabolites accumulation in CPM. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to analyse the effects of altitude on triterpenoid biosynthetic pathways and secondary metabolite accumulation in CPM. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The untargeted metabolomics based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and 10 triterpenoids based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method were analysed at the low-altitude (1480 m) and high-altitude (2300 m) CPM fresh roots. The transcriptome based on high-throughput sequencing technology were combined to analyse the different altitude CPM triterpenoid biosynthetic pathways. RESULTS: A total of 17,351 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 55 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected from the different altitude CPM, and there are significant differences in the content of the 10 triterpenoids. The results of transcriptome study showed that CPM could significantly up-regulate the gene expression levels of seven key enzymes in the triterpenoid biosynthetic pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The CPM at high altitude is more likely to accumulate triterpenes than those at low altitude, which was related to the up-regulation of the gene expression levels of seven key enzymes. These results expand our understanding of how altitude affects plant metabolite biosynthesis.

Assessment of nursing faculty retirement projections.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculty retirement is a critical factor contributing to the nursing faculty shortage. PURPOSE: To assess the accuracy of projections on 2016 to 2025 nursing faculty retirements made in a previous study by Fang and Kesten (2017). METHODS: The 2016 to 2022 full-time nursing faculty data collected by American Association of Colleges of Nursing were used to examine the accuracy of the retirement projections for the same years. DISCUSSION: The study found that the mean age of full-time nursing faculty decreased for the first time; the number of faculty retirees and their age distributions projected by Fang and Kesten (2017) were accurate; there was a larger loss of nursing faculty at senior ranks to retirements than was anticipated; nursing faculty aged 50 to 59 in 2015 have made significant progress in doctoral attainment, senior rank, and graduate-level teaching by 2022, but they were still underrepresented in senior ranks compared to the 2016 to 2022 retirees; and for nursing faculty with a PhD degree, their growth was slower than their loss to retirements. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate the usefulness of the specific methods for faculty retirement projections. The decline in the mean age of nursing faculty is a positive sign that there is an increased recruitment of younger nurses into academia. The increase in the number of younger nurses entering academia with Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-degree preparation can be leveraged through PhD-DNP collaboration to prepare practice-ready nursing graduates who contribute to health care improvements. Nursing schools need to implement innovative strategies to mentor younger faculty for their successful succession.

Learning Many-Body Hamiltonians with Heisenberg-Limited Scaling.

Learning a many-body Hamiltonian from its dynamics is a fundamental problem in physics. In this Letter, we propose the first algorithm to achieve the Heisenberg limit for learning an interacting N-qubit local Hamiltonian. After a total evolution time of O(ε^{-1}), the proposed algorithm can efficiently estimate any parameter in the N-qubit Hamiltonian to ε error with high probability. Our algorithm uses ideas from quantum simulation to decouple the unknown N-qubit Hamiltonian H into noninteracting patches and learns H using a quantum-enhanced divide-and-conquer approach. The proposed algorithm is robust against state preparation and measurement error, does not require eigenstates or thermal states, and only uses polylog(ε^{-1}) experiments. In contrast, the best existing algorithms require O(ε^{-2}) experiments and total evolution time. We prove a matching lower bound to establish the asymptotic optimality of our algorithm.

Promoting dewatering efficiency of sludge by bioleaching coupling chemical flocculation.

In recent years, bioleaching has emerged as a cost-effective technology for enhancing the dewaterability of sludge. However, the lengthy treatment time involved in sludge bioleaching processes limits daily treatment capacity for sludge. Here, a novel approach was developed through a short time of sludge bioleaching with A. ferrooxidans LX5 (A. f) and A. thiooxidans TS6 (A. t) followed by polyferric sulfate (PFS) flocculation (A. f + A. t + PFS). After 12.5 h of the A. f + A. t + PFS treatment (30% A. f, 10% A. t, 40 mg/g DS S0, 60 mg/g DS FeSO4•7H2O, and 120 mg/g DS PFS), the reduction efficiency of specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and sludge cake moisture content reached 94.0% and 11.6%, respectively, which were comparable to the results achieved through 24 h of completed bioleaching treatment. In pilot-scale applications, the mechanical dewatering performance was notably improved following A. f + A. t + PFS treatment, with the low moisture content of the treated sludge cake (∼59.2%). This study provides new insights into the A. f + A. t + PFS process and holds potential for developing efficient and promising sludge dewatering strategies in engineering application.

Effects of Clostridium butyricum on Intestinal Microflora and Metabolism of Eriocheir sinensis.

Clostridium butyricum, a new probiotic in recent years, can produce butyric acid and short-chain fatty acids. It has the characteristics of strong acid and alkali resistance, high temperature resistance, and strong resistance to most antibiotics, and has more advantages than other probiotics. However, the action mechanism of C. butyricum on Eriocheir sinensis is still unclear and needs further study. In this study, when C. butyricum was added to the basic diet, the number of living bacteria was 0, 1 × 106 and 1 × 108 CFU/g, respectively. The E. sinensis were randomly divided into three groups: (blank control group, experimental group 1 (1 × 106 CFU/g) and experimental group 2 (1 × 108 CFU/g)). They were fed an experimental diet for 28 days. The effects of C. butyricum on E. sinensis were studied by detecting the differences in non-specific immune indexes, intestinal microflora, and metabolites between serum and hepatopancreas. The results showed that C. butyricum could improve the antioxidant ability of E. sinensis serum and hepatopancreas, protect intestinal tissues, and promote the absorption of nutrients. At the same time, it can enhance the microbial diversity and richness of the E. sinensis gut flora. LC-MS metabolomics was used to detect the metabolism of intestinal flora. It was found that C. butyricum could up-regulate lysophosphatidylcholine in the intestine. Through the KEGG enrichment pathway, it was found that significantly different metabolites were mainly concentrated in six metabolic pathways. The purine metabolism and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathways showed a downward trend, indicating that the addition of C. butyricum to feed could reduce purine metabolism, promote the water-salt balance of the organism's cells, and reduce inflammation. In this study, it was found that the addition of certain concentrations of C. butyricum to feed could improve the antioxidant ability of E. sinensis, improve the intestinal flora environment, and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. This can promote the body's metabolism, which is more conducive to its growth.

Formyl Radical Generation from α-Chloro N-Methoxyphthalimides Enables Selective Aldehyde Synthesis.

The aldehydes installation by radical formylation constitutes an attractive synthetic strategy. However, the generation of formyl radicals for organic synthesis applications remains unknown. Herein we report the first formyl radical generation from α-chloro N-methoxyphthalimides, which selectively synthesize aldehydes by alkene hydroformylation under mild photoredox conditions. The aldehydes can be installed on acrylates, acrylamides, vinyl sulfones, vinyl ketones, and complex steroids by radical hydroformylation in excellent chemoselectivity and regioselectivity. The concerted hydrochloride elimination for the formyl radical generation from α-chloro methoxy radicals is established by experimental and computational approaches.

Diagnosis and follow-up of glycogen storage disease (GSD) type VI from the largest GSD center in China.

Glycogen storage disease (GSD) Type VI is a glycogenolysis disorder caused by variants of PYGL. Knowledge about this disease is limited because only approximately 50 cases have been reported. We investigated the clinical profiles, molecular diagnosis, and treatment outcomes in patients with GSD VI from 2000 to 2021. The main initial clinical features of this cohort include hepatomegaly, short stature, elevated liver transaminases, hypertriglyceridemia, fasting hypoglycemia, and hyperuricemia. After uncooked cornstarch treatment, the stature and biochemical parameters improved significantly (p < 0.05). However, hyperuricemia recurred in most patients during adolescence. Among the 56 GSD VI patients, 54 biallelic variants and two single allelic variants of PYGL were identified, of which 43 were novel. There were two hotspot variants, c.1621-258_2178-23del and c.2467C>T p.(Gln823*), mainly in patients from Southwest and South China. c.1621-258_2178-23del is a 3.6 kb deletion that results in an out-of-frame deletion r.1621_2177del and an in-frame deletion r.1621_2265del. Our data show for the first time that long-term monitoring of uric acid is recommended for older GSD VI patients. This study also broadens the variant spectrum of PYGL and indicates that there are two hot-spot variants in China.

Effects of different energy diets on DNA methylation and mRNA expression in follicle stimulating hormone receptor gene promoter region of Duolang sheep during estrus.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to study the relationship between the methylation level of the promoter region of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) gene and the mRNA expression of Duolang sheep fed different energy diets. METHODS: In this study, polyembryo estrus Duolang sheep under different energy levels were selected as the experimental subjects. Dietary nutrient level reference (NY/T 816-2004), medium energy level was 10.88 MJ/day, high and low energy groups were increased and decreased by 15% on the basis of medium energy level, respectively 12.51 MJ/day, 9.25 MJ/day. Through RNA and DNA extraction, qPCR, bisulfitegenomicse-quencing PCR (BSP), sequence matching and other analysis of ovarian tissue of Duolang sheep. The difference of DNA methylation level and mRNA expression of FSHR gene during estrus in Duolang sheep fed with different energy diets was detected. RESULTS: The results showed the expression level of FSHR in high energy group was significantly higher than that in low energy group (P < 0.01), the expression level of FSHR in high energy group was significantly higher than that in medium energy group (P < 0.05), and the expression level of FSHR in medium energy group was significantly higher than that in low energy group (P < 0.05). In the target fragment of the promoter region of the FSHR gene, the methylation rate was 25% in the high energy group, 50% in the normal group, and 75% in the low energy group. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that different dietary energy levels had certain effects on the FSHR gene DNA methylation level and mRNA expression, and the expression level was negatively correlated with methylation level.

Evaluating the fermentation quality and bacterial community of high-moisture whole-plant quinoa silage ensiled with different additives.

AIM: To explore the potential of whole-plant quinoa (WPQ) as a high-protein source for livestock feed, this study evaluated the effects of additives on the fermentation quality and bacterial community of high-moisture WPQ silage. METHODS AND RESULTS: High-moisture WPQ was ensiled with one of the following additives: untreated control (C), fibrolytic enzyme (E), molasses (M), LAB inoculant (L), a combination of fibrolytic enzyme and LAB inoculant (EL) and a combination of molasses and LAB inoculant (ML). The fermentation quality and bacterial community after 60 days of ensiling were analysed. Naturally fermented WPQ exhibited acetic acid-type fermentation dominated by enterobacteria, with low lactic acid content (37.0 g/kg DM), and high pH value (5.65), acetic acid (70.8 g/kg DM) and NH3 -N production (229 g/kg TN). Adding molasses alone or combined with LAB inoculant shifted the fermentation pattern towards increased intensity of lactic acid fermentation, lowering the pH value (<4.56), contents of acetic acid (<46.7 g/kg DM) and NH3 -N (<140 g/kg TN) and total abundance of enterobacteria (<16.0%), and increasing the lactic acid content (>60.5 g/kg DM), lactic/acetic acid ratio (>1.40) and the relative abundance of Lactobacillus (>83.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the lack of fermentable sugar could be the main factor of restricting extensive lactic acid fermentation in WPQ silage. Supplementing fermentable sugar or co-ensiling with materials with high WSC content and low moisture content are expected to be beneficial strategies for producing high-quality WPQ silage. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: High biomass production and high protein content make WPQ to be an ideal forage source for livestock feed. Results of this study revealed the restricting factor for extensive lactic acid fermentation in WPQ silage, which could be helpful in producing high-quality WPQ silage.

Characterization of chemical composition variations in raw and processed Codonopsis Radix by integrating metabolomics and glycomics based on multiple chromatography-mass spectrometry technology.

Codonopsis Radix, a popular food homology medicine, is widely used in clinical traditional Chinese medicine and food supplement, raw products and three types of processed products are the main forms of decoction pieces in China. However, there is no scientific basis for comprehensive chemical characterization of raw and three types of processed products. Herein, we investigated qualitatively and quantificationally secondary and primary metabolites in raw Codonopsis Radix and three types of processed products by metabolomics and glycomics employing multiple chromatography-mass spectrometry technology combined with chemometric analysis further to look for differential compounds and propose the processing-induced chemical mechanisms. The results indicated that Codonopsis Radix became dark-colored and the smell of burnt incense odor was observed after processing. The principal component analysis demonstrated that secondary metabolome and glycome were significantly altered between raw and processed products, and 36 differential secondary metabolites and 11 differential primary metabolites were finally screened through orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis. The main types of compounds are alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides, amino acids, monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and furfural derivatives. Meanwhile, Chemical mechanisms could be involved, including oxidation, glycosidic hydrolysis, esterification, dehydration, and Maillard reaction. This work supplies a chemical basis for the application of various types of Codonopsis Radix decoction pieces.

Completion and attrition of DNP students of the 2006-2015 matriculating cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Despite the strong support for DNP education, we have limited knowledge about completion and attrition of DNP students, which are important measures of achievement of DNP programs. PURPOSE: To examine completion and attrition of students in DNP programs. METHODS: The data were obtained from AACN's Doctoral Student Roster Survey and Annual Survey of Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. 31,320 students who matriculated into DNP programs between 2006 and 2015 were selected. These years were chosen to ensure accurate estimates of graduation and attrition rates. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the associations between individual and institutional characteristics and attrition of DNP students. FINDINGS: We found that the completion rate of DNP students of the 2006-2015 matriculating cohorts was 77.3% and the attrition rate was 19.3%. On average, after matriculation, it took 3 years for the students to graduate and 1.9 years for students who left without graduating to drop out. The mean age at matriculation was 39.9 and the mean age at graduation was 42.2. Our multivariate analysis found that male students, part-time students, students who were not faculty or held a part-time faculty position, and students in DNP programs with more than 50% of courses taught online were more likely to experience attrition. DISCUSSION: The study findings provide useful information for DNP programs and nursing schools to better understand academic progression of DNP students.

[Influence of processing factors on honey-fried Codonopsis Radix].

The present study investigated the influence of heating and honey addition on the appearance, chemical component content, and pharmacological activity of Codonopsis Radix decoction pieces in the honey-frying process, and explored the processing mechanism of honey-fried Codonopsis Radix. The color, sweetness, and content of macromolecular components(e.g., oligosaccharides and polysaccharides) and small molecular components(e.g., lobetyolin and atractylenolide Ⅲ) of raw Codonopsis Radix, fried Codonopsis Radix, honey-mixed Codonopsis Radix, and honey-fried Codonopsis Radix were determined, and the antioxidant activities in vitro of their water extract, polysaccharide extract, and oligosaccharide extract were compared. The results showed that in terms of color and sweetness, compared with the raw Codonopsis Radix, the fried Codonopsis Radix slightly changed, the honey-mixed Codonopsis Radix changed significantly, and the honey-fried Codonopsis Radix changed with high significance. In terms of the content of lobetyolin, atractylenolide Ⅲ, and polysaccharides, the samples were ranked as raw Codonopsis Radix > fried Codonopsis Radix > honey-mixed Codonopsis Radix > honey-fried Codonopsis Radix, which indicated that heating and honey addition could reduce the content of these three components. In terms of the content of oligosaccharides, the samples were ranked as honey-fried Codonopsis Radix ≈ honey-mixed Codonopsis Radix > fried Codonopsis Radix ≈ raw Codonopsis Radix, indicating that honey addition could increase the content of oligosaccharides. In terms of antioxidant activity in vitro, ABTS radical scavenging ability of water extract, polysaccharides, and oligosaccharides of honey-fried Codonopsis Radix was most potent, while the change of antioxidant activity in vitro of each extract in the other three processed products was different. In short, both heating and honey addition can affect the appearance, chemical component content, and antioxidant activity in vitro of Codonopsis Radix decoction pieces, but the effect of the combination of the two factors is the best. The comprehensive analysis of the effects of heating and honey addition on Codonopsis Radix decoction pieces indicates that honey addition followed by heating at high temperature is the necessary condition for honey-fried Codonopsis Radix to enhance its activity.

A Rational Biphasic Tailoring Strategy Enabling High-Performance Layered Cathodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Layered oxide cathodes usually exhibit high compositional diversity, thus providing controllable electrochemical performance for Na-ion batteries. These abundant components lead to complicated structural chemistry, closely affecting the stacking preference, phase transition and Na+ kinetics. With this perspective, we explore the thermodynamically stable phase diagram of various P2/O3 composites based on a rational biphasic tailoring strategy. Then a specific P2/O3 composite is investigated and compared with its monophasic counterparts. A highly reversible structural evolution of P2/O3-P2/O3/P3-P2/P3-P2/Z/O3'-Z/O3' based on the Ni2+ /Ni3.5+ , Fe3+ /Fe4+ and Mn3.8+ /Mn4+ redox couples upon sequential Na extraction/insertion is revealed. The reduced structural strain at the phase boundary alleviates the phase transition and decreases the lattice mismatch during cycling, endowing the biphasic electrode a large reversible capacity of 144 mAh g-1 with the energy density approaching 514 Wh kg-1 .

Transcriptome changes of Takifugu obscurus liver after acute exposure to phenanthrene.

Phenanthrene (Phe) is a model compound in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) research. Reportedly, Phe treatment induced oxidative stress and histological disorders to Takifugu obscurus liver. In this study, to further explore the molecular responses of T. obscurus liver to Phe exposure, transcriptome sequencing was applied to compare mRNA transcription profiles between Phe treatment and the control. Compared with the control, 1,581 and 1,428 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated in Phe treatment, respectively. Further analysis revealed that Phe treatment mainly upregulated genes in Ras-MAPK and PI3K-akt signaling pathways, which represented insulin resistance and further activated the FOXO signaling pathway. The triacylglycerol biosynthesis was promoted but the gluconeogenesis process was inhibited in response to Phe treatment, demonstrating that Phe exposure disturbed the sugar and lipid metabolism. Moreover, Phe treatment upregulated the Apelin-APJ and ErbB signaling pathways, promoting angiogenesis in T. obscurus liver. Insulin resistance, promoted triacylglycerol biosynthesis, and angiogenesis might explain the molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenic toxicity of Phe. Overall, this study provides new insights to understand the environmental risk of Phe to fishes.

The association between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between food insecurity and mental health outcomes among low-income Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a survey of 2714 low-income respondents nationwide from June 29, 2020 to July 21, 2020. A proportional odds logit model was employed to estimate the associations between food insecurity and anxiety and between food insecurity and depression. RESULTS: Food insecurity is associated with a 257% higher risk of anxiety and a 253% higher risk of depression. Losing a job during the pandemic is associated with a 32% increase in risk for anxiety and a 27% increase in risk for depression. CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity caused by the pandemic was associated with increased risk of mental illness. The relative risk of mental illness from being food insecure is almost three-fold that of losing a job during the pandemic. Public health measures should focus on getting direct subsidies of food purchases to poor families, especially families with children. They should also reduce the stigma and shame that is associated with accepting charitable foods.

Completion and attrition of nursing PhD students of the 2001 to 2010 matriculating cohorts.

PURPOSE: To examine completion and attrition of students in nursing PhD programs. METHODS: Total 5,391 students who matriculated into nursing PhD programs in 2001 to 2010 were selected from the AACN database. FINDINGS: The completion rate of the students was 74.2% and the attrition rate was 22.7%. On average, it took 5.7 years for the students to graduate and 3.7 years for the students who left without graduating to drop out. The mean age at matriculation and graduation was 42.4 and 47.5, respectively. Male students, part-time students, students of post-baccalaureate programs, students who were not faculty or held a part-time faculty position, students of the 2001 to 2010 matriculation cohorts, and students in PhD programs with 25% or more of the courses taught online were more likely to experience attrition. CONCLUSION: The study findings provide useful information for the nursing education community to better address the issue of nursing PhD shortage.

Transcriptome changes of Takifugu obscurus liver after acute exposure to the oxygenated-PAH 9,10-phenanthrenequione.

Contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) causes noticeable ecological problems in aquatic ecosystems. 9,10-Phenanthrenequione (9,10-PQ) is an oxidized PAH and is highly toxic to aquatic animals. However, the effects of 9,10-PQ on the molecular metabolism of fish remain largely unknown. In this study, Takifugu obscurus juveniles were acutely exposed to 44.30 µg/L 9,10-PQ for 3 days. The transcriptome profile changes in their livers were compared between the 9,10-PQ treatment group and the control using T. rubripes as the reference genome. The results identified 22,414 genes in our transcriptome. Among them, 767 genes were differentially expressed after exposure to 9,10-PQ, which enriched 16 KEGG pathways. Among them, the glycolysis, phagosome, and FOXO signaling pathways were significantly activated in 9,10-PQ treatment compared with the control. These data indicate that 9,10-PQ increased the glycolysis capacity to produce more energy for resistance and harmed immune function. Moreover, several genes related to tumorigenesis were significantly upregulated in response to 9,10-PQ, displaying the carcinogenic toxicity of 9,10-PQ to T. obscurus. Genes in steroid biosynthesis pathways were downregulated in the 9,10-PQ treatment group, suggesting interference with the endocrine system. Overall, these findings provide information to help evaluate the environmental risks that oxygenated-PAHs present to T. obscurus.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) respond to tributyltin chloride (TBT-Cl) exposure in the river pufferfish (Takifugu obscurus): Evidences for its toxic injury function.

Tributyltin chloride (TBT-Cl) residual in water body had become a noticeable ecological problem for aquatic ecosystems. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are an ancient family of pattern recognition receptors that play key roles in detecting nonself antigens and immune system activation. In this study, we explored the effect of TBT-Cl exposure on four TLRs expression in river pufferfish, Takifugu obscurus. The four T. obscurus Toll-like receptors (To-TLRs) contained different types of domains such as leucine-rich repeats (LRRs), leucine-rich repeats, typical subfamily (LRR_TYP) and other special domains. The To-TLRs mRNA transcripts expressed in all tissues, also To-TLR2 was investigated with higher level in kidney, as well as To-TLR3 in kidney, while To-TLR18 in liver and To-TLR22 in intestine. After the acute and chronic exposure of TBT-Cl, To-TLR2 and To-TLR3 mRNA transcripts were significantly down-regulated in gill. However, To-TLR18 and To-TLR22 were significantly up-regulated in gill and liver. Moreover, the histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) results showed the different injury degrees of TBT-Cl in liver and gill and implied the cytoplasm reorganization after TBT-Cl stress and the function of immunoregulation for To-TLRs to TBT-Cl exposure. All the results indicated that To-TLRs might involve in sensing and mediating innate immune responses caused by TBT-Cl for keeping detoxification homeostasis.

Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Soils of Zhejiang Province, China: Levels, Distribution, Sources, and Exposure Risks.

Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are an emerging class of pollutants. In this study, 62 soil samples were collected from Zhejiang Province China, and screened for 8 typical OPFRs. All compounds were detected in soil at 100% detection frequency, except for triethyl phosphate (TEP) compounds (93.6%). The sum of the eight OPFR concentrations ranged from 9.15 to 132 ng/g dry weight (dw), with mean and median values of 24.9 and 19.0 ng/g dw, respectively. Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) was identified as the most abundant analog, with a median concentration of 9.94 ng/g dw, followed by tris(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (TEHP). Significantly higher OPFR concentrations were detected in northern Zhejiang; concentrations decreased sharply from the north to the south. OPFR concentrations in soils from cities or economically developed counties were much higher than those from rural areas. OPFR sources in Zhejiang Province mainly originated from PVC-made products and traffic emissions.  Dermal absorption of OPFRs via soil was the primary pathway for human exposure. Health risks due to exposure to OPFRs through soil ingestion were found to be negligible.

Histological, oxidative and immune changes in response to 9,10-phenanthrenequione, retene and phenanthrene in Takifugu obscurus liver.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are typical pollutants and may be alkylated and oxygenated to form alkyl-PAHs and oxygenated-PAHs (oxy-PAHs), respectively. Takifugu obscurus is an important anadromous fish species and displays a high risk of being exposed to PAHs-contaminated areas. In the present study, the effects of acute exposure to 44.29 µg L-1 9,10-phenanthrenequione (9,10-PQ), retene and phenanthrene (Phe) on T. obscurus liver histology, antioxidant enzymes and immune indices were compared. After exposure to these three compounds, histological sections showed damages of hepatocyte, and the activities of alanine and aspartate aminotransferase increased in plasma, indicating direct hepatic toxicity. Hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased, but superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities decreased in response to treatments with Phe, retene and 9,10-PQ. These results revealed peroxidative effects on T. obscurus hepatocytes. In addition, total immunoglobulin content and lysozyme activity in plasma increased in treatments with Phe, retene and 9,10-PQ, which might be resulted from the damaged liver cells and the subsequently hepatic inflammation. Besides, the changes were more severe in treatment with 9,10-PQ than those with Phe and retene, demonstrating higher toxicity of 9,10-PQ than the other two compounds. Overall, the present study posed a high environmental risk of PAH derivatives to aquatic ecosystems.